Recapping My experiences From New York Fashion Week Fall 2017
It’s always fun to do something that you once thought you could never do.
New York Fashion Week has always been something that I admired from afar but never considered attending. The dream just seemed too distant, so I made it nonexistent.
From the runway shows to the magazine's everything seemed exclusive. No one ever talked about how to attend shows, so I never considered going.
I Love Fashion
I've always been into fashion, media, and hair. I graduated college and I knew that this was the route for my career. I wanted to take my career seriously, so I decided to go to fashion week to get a better glimpse of the industry.
After intense PR research and a plane ticket later, I was able to attend my first New York Fashion Week.
The trip was life-changing and motivated me to work harder at my craft.
I just returned from my second trip to New York fashion week. I still cannot believe that I went not just once but twice. This proves just how achievable this can be for anyone.
New York Fashion Week is a highly anticipated time of year for those in the fashion industry. Designers take months to prepare for a show that will last ten minutes but those ten minutes will last a whole season.
Fashionistas and Fashionistas alike flock to get a foreshadowing of the next season’s upcoming trends.
The Industry is Changing
The industry had changed before shows were only mainly accessible by the industry’s upper echelon, but now shows have more open access.
Nowadays it is not only big-name designers showing during fashion week, but emerging designers are everywhere. Shows used to be for an older crowd yet now younger millennial audiences flock to see what is going to be in next season.
Phones are out, Snapchat filters used as fashion lovers from all over the world watch their favorite designers through the lens of social media. Social media allows those who are not in attendance to feel present.
Street style photographers and press are everywhere during fashion week. In the past, they would aim to mainly photograph supermodels, creative directors, those who were known names in the fashion industry but nowadays anyone can feel like a star as long as they make a statement.
It is not uncommon for an ordinary passerby to get photographed then end up featured in a publication like VOGUE.
I know this experience very well because it happened to me during my first fashion week. I was featured in VOGUE while wearing an effortless African print dress.
Hair is a Fashion Statement
After being featured in VOGUE, I wondered what would get such a simple outfit featured in the top fashion publication ever known to man?
The answer was simple.
It was not just my outfit it was my hair. Hair is a fashion statement. Photographers, press, and even other attendees will stop you because of your hair.
I continuously try to make sure that my outfit, hair, and makeup are all working together.
This year I had to make sure that I did something different.
I guess you can say the goal was to look like a different person each day. When it came to my hair, I changed my hair almost every other day. My hair changes were so drastic that I would run into people consecutively and have to let them know that it was the same person they met the day before.
After falling in love with Private Label’s Raw Vietnamese and Indian Hair Extensions, I had to rock the hair to fashion week.
I am a wig lover, so I wore Private Label’s Brazilian Body Wave Lace Front Wig.
Although I am not new to wigs, I have never worn a lace frontal wig. After binge-watching countless Youtube videos, I was ready to join the lace frontal club.
Customizing and wearing the lace frontal was not as hard as I thought. Once I was done the hair looked like it was coming out of my scalp.
Ricardo Seco Show
I wore the hair backstage at the Ricardo Seco show where I took a photo with Denver Nuggets player Kenneth Faried.
He probably had no idea that I was just sitting front row with him at a show the day before!
That is one thing I love about wigs, the versatility! I looked like a whole different person.
His stylist and I had connected that same week as well, and when he saw me he yelled “Girl I didn’t even recognize you! You look like a different person. You are slaying in this hair!”
I had done a complete 180 with my hair by going from a huge 70s inspired afro to a sleek body wave look with the Private Label wig. That wig made me feel like a whole new person.
Hair Was a Focus!
The designers during fashion week made sure that the hair at their shows was making just as much as a statement as the clothing.
Braids in both men and women were a common style I saw at shows. Male hair was paid just as much attention to female hair during the shows.
The male models were groomed and their hair styled according to the show's direction. Asian designer Justin Chou released his male and female collection Just In Case where the male models wore single and corn-row braids in their hair.
Colored hair that went with the colors of the fabrics and textures on the designs was also incorporated on the model’s hair at shows. After getting my first backstage experience, I saw that there was a whole team just for hair to make sure that everything went smoothly.
Lashes Were Life!
I wore the Private Label lashes every single day.
My favorite style this weekend was the Lola lashes. The Lola lashes offer a natural and light lash look that opens your eyes.
I looked like a doll everywhere I went.
All of these experiences with hair during fashion week made me realize that when it comes to fashion, your hair and makeup are just as important as what you wear.
